The Lost Hero: A Manus Chase Fanfiction
by Mister Asylum
Summary: James is the grandson of Loki, with plans to rule all nine worlds, destroying both good and evil during Ragnarok. But when Loki learns of this potential threat and kills him, he ends up in Valhalla. Full of hatred, he needs to learn how to get his army back, and think of a way to put an end to Loki once and for all. *Rated T for violence, profanity, death and suffering.*
1. Life, Death, Evil, and Stress

James gazed out the window of the school bus at the forest sliding by. It was drizzling and cold, and he was glad to be inside the warm bus. Tyler was drumming his fingers on his saxophone case beside him. He was humming and waiting for his best friend James to say something. When he said nothing, he dreamily said, "Any girls you like?"

James shrugged. "Girls were never my type." James was not gay. He wasn't anything. He was not attracted to anyone.

Tyler giggled. "James Harrilson, you are a strange person."

They were both fifteen. They went to a school called St. Joseph Preparatory High School, and Tyler was James's only friend there. They met in fifth grade, when James was slightly more social. He still had no friends, but when Tyler came to the school, that changed. Tyler was the typical "new kid." No one knew him. He was slightly critical and antisocial. And he wasn't afraid to start a fight. James instantly knew they'd be friends.

James was born in Mexico. His name was Diego Cruz. But when he was seven, they moved to Boston, Massachusetts so they could start a new life without money problems. And it worked. But everything had to change. He got a new name. Learned a new language. Went to a new school. But he also learned a dark secret about his family history. Although both his parents were Mexican, his mother, who had assumed her whole life that her father was dead, was the daughter of a Norse God. And not a good one. He didn't want to believe it the first time he met his grandfather. He didn't want to believe anything at all. That they'd moved, that he couldn't understand anyone or anything, or that his grandfather was an evil Norse god of mischief with plans to destroy all nine worlds. He vividly remembered his first encounter with Loki.

" _Quién eres?"_

" _¿todavía no lo sabes?"_

" _¿Debe?"_

" _Mira. ¿a quién parezco?"_

At this point, James gasped. _"¿Madre?"_

" _Sí, Diego. Soy Loki, Dios Nórdico de travesuras. Soy tu abuelo."_

" _Mi madre siempre me dijo que estaba muerto hace mucho tiempo."_

" _Mentiras."_

" _¿por qué mentiría mamá?"_

" _Ella no lo sabe, Diego."_

James took a few steps back. _"¿me vas a hacer daño?"_

Loki laughed. _"No. Estoy aquí para ayudarte."_

" _¿Cómo? ¿ayudarme con qué?"_

" _Pronto lo aprenderás."_

Then, Loki vanished into thin air.

Tyler sook James's shoulder. "Buddy? Hey, you went into space for a while. You were blabbering in Spanish to yourself again."

James shrugged apologetically. "Sorry."

Tyler nodded and tried to think up a conversation. "What do you think about anteaters?" He asked eventually.

James snorted. "They're strange. But cool, I guess."

"Ah."

Silence.

"How're your parents?" Tyler asked.

"Good, I guess. Father still works constantly. Mother's same as ever."

"And what about _him_?"

Tyler knew about Loki. He didn't know he was a Norse god, but he knew he was James's abusive grandfather.

"Same as ever." James sighed gazed out the window again. Loki wasn't abusive like James had told Tyler he was. Actually, he was extremely good to James. Better than his parents, even. But he hated Loki more than anyone else he'd ever met.

Eventually, the school bus got to James's two-story house. As soon as he got off, he sprinted into the house, up the stairs, into his bedroom, and locked the door.

"Well?" He said to the air. "Gonna' come out or what?"

"I'll come out if I want to." A voice replied.

"Unless I tell you to. Then, you come out now."

"Fair enough."

The shape of his grandfather formed behind him. James looked at him from head to toe.

"I'm starting to think you look better in those Marvel _Thor_ movies every time I see you."

Loki rolled his eyes. "Not looking much better yourself, kid."

"Not _much_ better. Still better."

"You got me." Loki tapped his foot. "So you gonna' get me out of this cave or what?"

James pretended to consider the request. "No. Because I don't like you."

"Oh, here we go again. Your whole Ragnarok idea party again." Loki sat down, crossed his legs, and put his hands behind his head. "Begin when you please."

"It'll work, Loki. You wait and see. You'll burn below as I watch, laughing from the top of the world tree."

"Uh huh. And who have you recruited for that?"

"Four fire lords from Muspelheim, a few giants from Jotunheim, a bunch of random dead guys in Helheim, and an ice giant from Niflheim."

"Oh, bravo, James, bravo. Only, I have everyone not in Valhalla, Folkvang, or Helheim."

"Oh, so a bunch of _living_ dudes who'll be dead before Ragnarok even begins. I'm _proud_ of you, Loki. Did you know Hel promised me every dead man and woman she had for my side in Ragnarok? I guess favorite cousin beats least favorite father any day and every day."

"Point taken." Loki nodded and held up his hands in surrender. "So you plan on living, what, another fifteen years? End up in a nice place in the afterlife?"

"One, this isn't relevant to our conversation, and two, no, I'm gonna' live my full life and get into Helheim."

"Right."

"What, you've got a problem with that?"

"No." He smiled evilly. "Later, kid." And then he vanished.

" _Jerk_." James mumbled to himself. He unlocked his door and went outside. The rain had cleared up, and the sun was peaking though the clouds. He walked down the sidewalk of the busy Boston streets. His black hair was blowing in the strong breeze and blowing into his eyes. He pushed it out of his face and put on a hat to keep it contained. He looked like a regular citizen. White t-shirt, tan pants, very little jewelry, and sneakers. Only he had a gun tucked into the sheath in his belt. He's had it for years. He'd never had to use it, luckily, but the city was a dangerous place, and you never knew what could happen. He looked to make sure no one was looking, then crept in an alley between a bar and a hotel, then pulled out his phone to call Tyler.

"Tyler get your butt over to the alley. I'm waiting."

"Alrighty, _Diego._ "

"Cut it out."

"Stop being bossy."

"Fine."

"Alright. I'm on my way."

 _Beep, beep, beep!_

He tucked his phone back into his pocket and patiently awaited Tyler's arrival. He started staring off into space, when Tyler jumped into the alley screaming, "Boo!" James yelped and fell backwards into the dumpster he was sitting on. Tyler was laughing hysterically when he resurfaced.

"I wish I recorded that!" He yelled.

"That's not _funny,_ Tyler!"

"Yes, it is!"

James sighed. "Fine. Anyway, when I got home, _he_ was there."

"Of course he was. What now?"

"He wasn't as bad today. Just sat back and criticized my plan for world domi-for, my science essay."

"Why does he do that?"

"I wish I knew."

"You think he has some grudge against-" He stopped, and his eyes widened at something behind them.

"Tyler?" James asked, turning. He slowly turned his head, and standing behind them was a beautiful but evil, snarling white wolf. There weren't even any sudden movements before it pounced. Without thinking, James pulled his gun and fired at it. But it kept coming and knocked him off his feet, breathing in his face. In one agonizing second, it sunk its claws into his heart. He screamed in pain and fired three more bullets, one hitting the dog in the eye. It whimpered then rolled over, dead. Tyler, who'd been watching from behind, ran over to his bleeding body. "James!"

"Tyler, I won't live. I'll see you again in an afterlife. Unless cousin Hel lets me visit."

Tyler's face asked a thousand questions, but he just cried, his trembling hands over his mouth.

"Help!" He screamed. "Someone! My friend is dying!" He tried dragging James out of the alley, but it was no use. James stared up at the sky, and that's when he saw it. A Valkyrie. _NO!_ He thought. He opened his hand to drop his gun, but before he could turn it over, he was dead.

Darkness.

He looked down at a dark, swirly abyss, and started squirming for freedom. "Careful!" Cried the Valkyrie. "You'll fall!"

"I… _know_!" He struggled, but the Valkyrie sped up, and everything went black again. Through the darkness, he heard a laugh. A familiar one. "Loki!" He screamed. "You _killed_ me! I'll _kill_ you, Loki!" Then another voice came through his mind. A female.

"That's the spirit!" Said the jovial Valkyrie.

He then opened his eyes fully. He was at the Hotel Valhalla. Naturally. As he was angrily scanning his surroundings, a hand tapped his shoulder.

"Hello! Welcome to the Hotel Valhalla! I'm sure you'll have a wonderful stay!"

"I beg to differ." James mumbled.


	2. Valhalla

James slumped his shoulders and walked into the huge building.

"Any luggage?"

"No. Besides an angry temper and murderous rage."

The guy took a few steps away.

"Great. Good to know." He said.

"Checking in?" Another man asked from behind a desk.

"I wish I weren't." James said honestly.

"Yeah, me too." He replied, handing James a key. "Floor seventeen. Room five."

James snatched the key and stormed off independently. He still had his gun, and he was tempted to take it out and show everyone how he felt. But he resisted his urge and took the elevator to the seventeenth floor. Once the doors slid open, he crossed his arms and jammed the key into the room five lock. He opened the door and walked into the room. It would have been pitch black, but in the very center of the room, there was a huge red flame. Intrigued, James walked over to investigate. He looked a little closer at it, and that's when he could make out shapes. The world tree. Burning. With him laughing on top, gazing into the fire. _What a strange decoration._ He thought, turning on the lights. The room was beautiful, he had to admit. He was still angry he was at the hotel, but it was a beautiful place. He was examining the place, when there was a bang on the door. Angrily, he went to open it. There was a perky-looking girl standing there.

"Hi James! I'm Alicia, the Valkyrie who brought you here."

James's stomach got a sick feeling. " _You're_ responsible for this…."

"Um, yeah. That a bad thing?"

He considered this. Loki would be his most powerful enemy at Ragnarok. He _could_ use the good guys to kill him before wiping them out complexly and taking over the nine worlds. Sounded legit. "No, I guess not. As long as I get to kill Loki?"

She giggled. "You've certainly got fiery desire, don't you?"

"Yes, and don't make me use it against you." He mumbled.

"Hmm?"

"Nothing. Who else is on this floor?"

"Oh. Your floormates? Well, there's Jaxon, or just Jax. He's been here just around a year. Then there's Kurt. He's a _real_ cutie, though you're a guy. Unless you're gay, which would be unfortunate since I'd like to, ahem, 'get to know you,' sometime. You're pretty cute."

 _Ugh._ He thought. _Tell me that's not why she brought me here._

"Also there's Miora. I don't know how she ended up here. As if you can call a pointy pen a weapon. Ack. But, she _did_ prove to be quite the fighter. She knows at least nine different martial arts."

" _Nine!_ "

"Yep! I think you'd like her. And finally there's Angel. Shy, sweet little Angel. He's friendly, but a little _too_ friendly."

 _Oh, you're one to judge!_ He thought.

"Right…so are any of them Spanish?"

"I don't think so. A few of them speak Spanish, but they have little or no Spanish blood. Unlike you. Full Spanish?"

"And a little Norse, obviously."

"Oh right! Who's your godly parent?"

"Actually grandparent."

"Ah. Who?"

"Uhh…will this reflect on how people here treat me?"

She hesitated. "Yes, why?"

"Because it's Loki."

She looked pained. "You have murderous rage against your own grandfather?"

"Are there other family of Loki here?"

"Well, the most popular is Alex Ferrio on floor 19 I think. He/she helped Magnus Chase delay Ragnarok a few years back. You'd get along. I also think you both died in the same way."

"Right…he/she? Is he/she like, a hermaphrodite?"

She giggled. "No. She's a gender-fluid. It alternates. But she's usually female."

"How can you tell what gender she is when?"

"Actually, I don't know. Ask Magnus Chase. He'll know."

"Okay…."

They were silent for a minute.

"Could I just go knock on her door? Or is there some policy on that here?"

"No, you can go knock. She might not be there. But you can try."

"Now?"

"Go for it."

They said nothing else. James pushed her aside and walked to the elevator. Maybe Valhalla wouldn't be _nearly_ as bad as he expected. Other than the perkiness of Alicia, and his few ridiculous-sounding floormates, it wasn't so bad. He pushed the floor nineteen button and rocked back and forth on his heels as it went up. When it got to the floor, he stepped out, slightly nervous, and slowly walked to the door with the name _ALEX_ on it. He banged on it a few times and waited. After a few seconds, a green-haired person opened up. Really, he couldn't at all tell what gender Alex was. Could go either way.

"Uhh, hi." Alex said. "Can I help you?"

"I'm new here, from floor fifteen." He weakly replied.

"What?"

"I said, I'm new here, from floor fifteen." This time with confidence.

"Oh. Well, nice to meet you. I'm Alex."

"I'm James." He said, shaking Alex's hand.

"Um, just, because I'm a little confuse, my Valkyrie told me we'd get along, and um, she also told me you changed genders or something?"

"Yep."

"How can I tell what gender you are? What are you now?"

"Well, right now, I'm female. I don't really know. Some people can just tell. Some can't."

"Oh. Just one more question."

"Yes?"

"When you first died, how did your living friends react?"

Her face turned grim. "I don't have living friends."

"Oh. I'm sorry. But, well, I have this living friend, and I kind of died in his arms. We were really close. I just don't want him to suicide or anything."

"Oh, just go visit him." She nodded her head.

"He won't think it's weird that his dead friend is talking to him?"

"Just explain things to him. Worst-case scenario he goes completely insane."

"Alright, that's _not_ even good for a worst-case scenario!"

"What'd you expect? It's the _worst,_ duh."

"Oh." He waited, thinking of something to say. "My Valkyrie told me we died in the same way."

She snorted. "You died fighting off a wolf sent by Loki in some random alley in Boston?"

"Yes."

She blankly stared at him. "You've got to be kidding."

"No."

"Loki's your father, too, I assume?"

"Grandfather, actually. He's been the greatest family I've ever had. But I hate him. I'll kill him next time I see him. Cut off his head and drink from it."

"Oh that's a pleasant thought." Alex said sarcastically. "Why did he kill you?"

"I told him my plans to kill both good and evil at Ragnarok and told him my huge army and he realized I might be a threat, so he sent me here instead of Helheim like I planned." Too much information?

"Umm."

"Yeah, probably should've held my tongue there."

"Probably. Go talk to Magnus. You're scaring me."

"Alright." He said as she slammed the door in his face. He sighed and turned to the door labeled _Magnus._ He knocked, and a beat-up blond guy answered.

"Uh, hey."

"Hi. I'm the new guy on floor fifteen. Alex told me to talk to you after she slammed the door in my face." He bit his tongue inside his mouth.

"Oh, well, she's like that sometimes."

"Ah. Is it true that you trapped my _grandfather,_ Loki, in a walnut?"

"Yeah, it is. Why did you put so much force into the word 'grandfather?'"

"Because I don't want you to think he's my father."

"Oh."

"I wish _I_ could trap him in a walnut. Show him who to kill. No, I'm not telling this whole story again. And by the way, did you have any friends when you died?"

"Uh, yes."

"Who?"

"Hearthstone and Blitzen. Hearth's an elf and he's somewhere, and Blitzen is a dwarf who has a fashion line somewhere."

"Right…" He slowly said. "And when you died, did they, like, mourn?"

"Actually, when I died, the only person who cared was Randolph, my uncle."

"So how do I visit my living friend?"

"Oh, so down that hall there's a recycling chute."

"I don't like this idea."

"How I got out my first time is going through it. But I got into a lot of trouble with that. I recommend just aking to go back. A Valkyrie will take you."

"Good. How do I get a Valkyrie to get her butt over to me?"

"I dunno."

"Great. Where's the recycling chute?"

Magnus pointed.

"Thank you." James turned and walked to where Magnus was pointing.

…

An angry Valkyrie steered James through the halls of Valhalla. He was smiling to himself, not in an excited way, but more of a _you-can't-be-serious-about-this_ smile. He failed at an escape and was already in trouble. The Valkyrie sat him at a table of other Valkyries and crossed her arms. They were silent, until she said:

"Why were you trying to escape through the recycling chute?"

He snorted. "Ask Magnus Chase."

"That little…!" She balled her fists and bit her lip. "Why did you listen to him?"

"Because I don't like it here and I wanted to stop my best friend from suiciding over me."

She bit down harder on her lip. "Alright, you'll have to wait until tomorrow before you can go, though."

James sighed. "Fine."

"No more trying to escape!" She yelled, seeming to remember she was angry. "Who brought you here anyway?"

"Alicia." Alicia blushed at the corner of the table and looked ashamed. The angry Valkyrie sighed and shook her head, then walked away. "Am I…allowed to leave or am I still in trouble?"

"Both." Said another Valkyrie at the table.

James turned and left the room and went back to his own. _Thanks, Magnus. You're just a joy._


	3. Friends and Enemies, but Mostly Enemies

James crossed his arms behind his locked bedroom door.

"C'mon, James, you're gonna' get me fired!" Alicia yelled. "It was luck that either of us survived your little stunt earlier with the recycling chute! Just come to the feast!"

James shook his head, even though she couldn't see him. "No. I hate it here."

"C'mon, you _just got here_! How do you already hate it?"

James balled his fist, and his face looked like he'd just swallowed a ghost pepper. He flung the door open and gave the Valkyrie a death glare through his bloodshot eyes. "You…ruined…everything!" He yelled. "I had a plan! I didn't want to come to Valhalla! I tried to drop the gun when I died! I didn't want any of this to have to happen, to either of us! But especially to me, I kind of hate you."

Her eyes filled with tears. It looked like she wanted to yell, but instead, she just ran away, hyperventilating and crying uncontrollably.

When she moved, that's when James noticed the girl standing in an open doorway across the hall. She looked about nineteen years old, but something in her eyes made James think she was younger. Her long, ink-black hair was pulled into a high ponytail, and she looked like she was somewhere from China or Japan.

"You know how old that Valkyrie is, right?" She asked him.

James snorted. "No."

The girl shook her head. "She's nine."

James choked on the air. " _Nine_? I thought she was, like, fourteen!"

The girl smiled. "Nope. That's Alicia Candy-Amberry. She's currently in fourth grade."

"No." James said, his mouth hanging open in awe, but the corners upturned a bit.

"Yep." She replied, walking across the hall. "I'm Moira Chinen." She said, holding out her hand.

"I'm James Harrilson." James replied, shaking it.

She pursed her lips. "You're new here?"

James nodded.

"Then you should be ready for an attack at any time!" She yelled, pulling some kind of katana out of the sheath in her belt, and pinning him to the wall with it. His eyes widened in surprise, and he held up his hands in surrender. She smirked. "You'll have to do better than that." She said, putting away her sword. James sighed.

"So this is my life now?"

"No, it's your _death._ Speaking of death, how _did_ you die?" She asked curiously.

James sighed again, and, extremely quickly, replied, "My grandfather Loki sent a wolf to murder me in some random dark alley in Boston and then I got picked up and brought here by a nine-year-old Valkyrie who has a crush on me and…yeah."

"Huh." She blankly stared at him.

"How'd _you_ die?"

She grinned, like she'd been hoping he'd asked. "I went to America to get a job at some stupid law place, and I honestly just wanted to go home and keep learning mixed martial arts and swordsmanship, but naturally, I just _had_ to die there." She rolled her eyes. "Anyway, this guy comes into this office building armed, and everyone surrenders instantly. So, being already pretty skilled, I pick up a random pen and stab his eyes with it. It worked for a few seconds where I was beating him up, but when he fell over, he wasn't quite unconscious yet, like I thought he was. So, from the floor, he throws me out the open window of the ninth floor of the building, into a busy road."

James rolled his eyes. "Show-off." He mumbled, walking into his room and slamming the door.

"Three down, one to go!" He heard her say from outside, which was followed by another door slam.

James stared into the flame, its glow casting dark shadows on the bedroom walls. He stared into the darkness, when suddenly, the silence was broken by a knock on the door.

"Room service!" A voice called.

"Oh, go die in a hole." James called back. Then there was silence again.

James thought the rest of his days until Ragnarok would be this uneventful. But just then, something happened to prove him wrong. In the fire in the center of his room, just beside his laughing figure, there materialized a second.

He thought he'd just made himself and enemy. Instead, Moira Chinen would join his side for Ragnarok.


	4. You think YOU have a Bad Family Life?

Although it took over an hour of persuasion, Alicia got James to come to the feast. James was not pleased and stabbed someone with his dinner knife for patting him on the back. People avoided him after that. There was a large area of empty space around him as he poked at his food with a fork.

"Hey." Moira said, sitting next to him.

He sighed. " _Hey,_ Miss Chinen."

"Please, James, it's Moira."

He looked at her, remembering all the times he'd been called Diego, even though he didn't like it. "Fine. Moira. There's something I need to ask you-"

"Is it about your plans for Ragnarok? So here's what I was thinking, we use one of the strongest fighters against Loki, or just a random god, like Thor, say, and use him as some good bait against Loki. Then, at that point, we can step in and kill Loki _and_ Thor. Two birds with one stone. Then, after that, we still have Odin to dead with, and my proposal for that is-"

"Whoa whoa whoa, slow down, there, pumpkin." James said quickly, lightly covering her mouth with his hand.

Moira pushed his hand away. "Okay, well what do you propose?" She asked.

"How do you know about all this already?" James asked.

She sighed. "Can I tell you a secret?"

"No."

"Well, you're hearing it. In me bedroom, in the very center, there's a fire. In that fire, I'm laughing atop the world tree, staring at all the destruction I've caused to the nine worlds. And today, after I met you, you appeared in that fire, laughing with me."

James was lost for words. "I have the same thing, and with you, I just had the same thing happen."

Moira raised her eyebrows. "Why didn't I see that coming? Anyway, I also think that we should-"

"Hey guys, watcha' up to? Nice to meet you, James!" A guy walked over and sat next to Moira.

"Jax, this is an A and B conversation, C your way out of it."

The guy repeated what she said in a dumb voice and moved closer.

"Really, will you ever do anything right?" She asked him, annoyed.

"It's not like _you're_ doing anything right."

"I do _everything_ right, I'll show you when the time comes!"

"Yeah, and if you were right, I'd agree with you."

She balled her fists. "Go to Helheim you overripe tomato."

He scowled, stood up, and walked away.

"Um," James tried to think of something to say.

"That's Jax, our floormate. He's also known as a huge pain in the ass." She replied, seemingly reading his mind.

"Yeah, he seems a little-"

"Narcissistic? No doubt."

"I was gonna' say problematic, but okay."

…

James twirled his fingers, staring up at the ceiling. It was hard to fall asleep with the bright orange glow of the fire, but he learned to live with it. He shut his eyes tight, trying to sleep for at least a few hours. But it was a failed attempt. Apparently, death will do that to you.

James rolled out of bed, rubbed his eyes, and stumbled across the room. He was still wearing the clothes he'd died in: he was too self-conscious to wear anything different. He ran his fingers along the wall. No chips in the paint. No cracks in the wood. No water dripping down from the ceiling. No air blowing in from outside. This place was _way_ too first-class.

What did he do to earn this?

But his thoughts were interrupted.

"Bad day?" A familiar voice said. He lurched back, startled, but turned around to face Loki.

He did not dignify his grandfather's question with a response. He ran to him, ready for a fight, but Loki moved aside lazily, avoiding the hit.

"Boy, I'm tied up in a cave halfway across the country. Your hits wouldn't affect me anyway."

James gritted his teeth, trying not to cry. He didn't want to give Loki that satisfaction.

"You…you…coward!" He eventually forced out. "I have a few weaklings to stand up against your entire army, but you're _so scared_ I'll succeed, you feel the need to kill me? ME! Your own grandson!"

"James, I-"

"Don't call me that!"

Loki snorted. "Fine, _Shaquana._ I wanted this to happen just as much as you did."

"Then why did you f***ing do it?!" James snapped.

"I had to."

"What do you mean, _you had to?!_ "

"I can explain it all. I still love you. You're my grandson."

" _ARE YOU HIGH?!_ "

"Shaquana-"

"Shut up! Just _shut up!_ Get out of my head, get out of my _life_!"

Loki went silent, but before vanishing, he mumbled, "It's not your life anymore."

James's knees buckled, and he crumbled on the ground. Loki would pay. Loki would pay for everything.

And what did Loki mean, " _I love you?"_ He killed James! Out of pure fear!

There were three bangs on his door. "James?" Moira's voice said anxiously. "I, uh, think you may have woken up everyone on our floor. Can I come in?"

James wanted to be left alone, but he opened the door anyway. Moira walked in as James shut the door again.

"Loki's that bad to have as a relative, huh?"

James nodded. "Who's your godly relative?"

"Tyr." She replied.

"Naturally."

There was silence.

"ラグナロクまで待ちます。 物事は良くなるでしょう。 私たちはあなたのおじいさんを正義に導きます。."

James raised his eyebrows. "What?"

"等到拉格納羅克。 事情會變得更好。 我們將把你的祖父繩之以法."

"Moira, I still don't know what you're saying."

She pouted, then whispered, "Just wait until Ragnarok. Things will get better. We will lead Loki to justice."

"Are we not aloud to talk about doomsday in our own bedrooms?"

"Never know when someone might be listening."

James nodded. "Do you know Spanish?"

She nodded. "A bit. I was learning it before I died, but there's no Spanish class at Valhalla, so I never finished."

"Oh. You should learn it. It's like, the second most spoken language on the planet. And, just wondering, how many languages _do_ you know?"

She took a deep breath. "English, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, Italian, German, Arabic, French, Dutch, Greek, Korean, Mongolian, Portuguese, Vietnamese, and Yiddish."

"But not Spanish."

"No, not Spanish."

James sighed.

"Alright, so are you gonna' be okay? With Loki and all?"

"No, but I'll survive the night."


	5. The Beginning of the End of the 9 Worlds

The chilly Midgard air blew in James's face. He'd just been allowed to leave Valhalla. Summer was fading into fall, and it was cold. Too cold for what he was wearing.

His arms crossed, and shivering, he walked to Tyler's house. He didn't know how he would react. Grateful? Heartbroken? Thinking he'd gone mad? All of the above?

He didn't have time to consider this during the three knocks he landed on Tyler's door. James didn't expect to see Tyler's mother, who gasped, and looked like she was about to faint.

"J-J-James?! How-how-you're _dead_!"

"I need to see Tyler. Like, _now._ "

"But James, how are you _here_?!"

"I can explain later, but I _need to see Tyler._ "

Her expression didn't change, but she nodded. "He-he's in his room."

James, not meaning to be impolite, pushed the woman out of the way and sprinted up the stairs. He pounded on Tyler's door as hard as he could.

"Mom, I _told_ you I didn't want to talk!"

James inhaled deeply. "Tyler?" He said, a touch of anxiety in his voice. Silence. Until he heard the lock slowly slide, and the door slightly opened. James saw Tyler's eye for about a second and a half before the door swung open completely. Tyler's mouth hung open in confusion.

"I've gone mad." He mumbled. "I'VE GONE MAD DAMN IT!" He screamed.

"Tyler-"

"Get out of my head! You're not _real!_ "

"Tyler, I'm real, I can explain everything."

" _GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"_

"Tyler, I'm real, it's me, James."

Tyler turned red, and, before he knew what had happened, James was on the floor with a bloody nose. Tyler covered his mouth and reached out his arm to help James up, but pulled it back, gave James a death glare, and slammed the door. From the hallway, James heard phone buttons being pressed and then:

"Hello? Hi, my name's Tyler, and I need someone to come pick me up. What? Yes, I'm sure. Thank you. Why? Hallucinations, and overall depression breakdown after seeing my friend die. Yes. Uh-huh. Thank you. Goodbye." He heard the phone being put down, and he felt nothing but guilt. His best friend just checked himself into an asylum because of him, damn it!

Without thinking, James ran down the stairs and, somehow, ran right through the door. He hesitated after it happened. Had Valhalla given his extra strength? It didn't matter now. He was too angry with himself to even care. He sprinted down the streets of Boston, and threw himself into the nearest store, a small clothing shop called Blitzen's Best. He could almost _feel_ anger beating on his mind, boiling his blood. His bloodshot eyes were oozing tears, and his face was as red as a strawberry. Needing _some_ outlet for his anger, James took a shirt of a hanger, then twisted the hanger into a pretzel. The owner of the store saw this and was _not_ happy.

"Kid, I don't want any trouble, but if you wanna' start a fight, I'll take you on!" He shouted at James. He was a short, fashionable man, who didn't look like the fighting type at all.

"Get…out…of…my…life, stupid corto!" James yelled. 'Corto' was Spanish for 'short.'

"Kid, this is _my_ store, I make the rules." The short man crossed his arms.

James snorted. "You _really_ expect me to believe _you_ could even poke my arm without getting your teeth knocked out?"

"I don't expect you to believe anything, but it might end you in a better place if you did."

"Really?" James didn't know why he was yelling at this man. He felt…out-of-control. "I _dare_ you to try."

The man came charging at him, but somehow, James jumped unnaturally high and slammed back down, pinning the small man to the ground.

And that was when James's soul got shattered into thousands of pieces, with a new realization.

He wasn't in control of himself. He could think, but his thoughts and actions could not be more distant. He could see the glow of his own eyes reflecting off the man's face.

"What the Helheim?" The man said.

James uncontrollably cackled. "Finally brought to justice, are we, Blitzen, Son of Freya?"

 _Blitzen, Son of Freya? Where did that come from?_ James thought.

"Loki!" The man yelled, looking terrified. James cackled again.

 _Loki? I-I can't be-no, this isn't possible!_ James's mind overflowed with thoughts. This little incident did _not_ mean his grandfather could control him. _Maybe I'm having some kind of mental breakdown, and common sense can't get through to my body?_ James thought.

"Loki you filthy rat!" The man yelled.

"Hey, let's not get to nasty with the insults. It's not like you have any other way to get on my nerves."

Yep, he was Loki.

The man squirmed, but James's— _Loki's_ grip was too powerful.

"Who's this? You've taken over a noble warrior of Odin, I can tell! No mortal has this strength!" The man yelled.

"This?" Loki said. "This is James Harrilson, my _favorite_ grandson."

James filled with rage and focused as hard as he could on letting go of the man's wrists.

And it worked.

The man quickly stood up, putting his arms between him and James.

James banged his head on the hard floor uncontrollably, somewhere between himself and Loki. He seemed to be having an argument with himself.

"Show some respect, boy!"

"Get out of my head, Loki!"

"You're rightfully my property!"

"Bull! I'm no one's property but mine!"

"James, show some obedience!"

"I don't have to obey people who _killed me_!"

With that, he smashed his head against the hard floor and blacked out.

…

James slowly opened his eyes. Loki seemed to be gone, but he had no idea where he was. There were rounded stone walls around him, and in the center of the cave-like room….

"Starting to wake up now, are we?" Loki asked.

"Die! Loki just _die_! Get out of my life!"

"See, would if I could, only I need you. You and your new strength."

"So _that's_ why you sent me to Valhalla."

"Clearly."

James remembered his anger at Loki and charged at him. But before he got there, he woke up for the second time. This time, he was in his bedroom at Valhalla. He was confused and had few memories of what had happened. But then he noticed a shred of paper on his bedside table.

Scribbled on it were the words:

 _Hey. We had to pick up your body from a clothing shop on Beacon Street. This is why we didn't want you in Midgard. We basically had to preform an exorcism on you to get the Loki out of you, but he should be gone now. For your own good and the good of everyone else at Valhalla, for heaven's sake, don't go back to Midgard!_

 _-Moira_


	6. Crossroads

James didn't talk for the next few days. Occasionally he'd mumble something to himself, but that was about as far as his speech went. He was too guilty to speak. He'd ended his best friend in an asylum.

 _No._ He tried to push the idea away. _It was Loki._ He tried to convince himself, with varying levels of success. He didn't _want_ it to be his fault that Tyler was in a nuthouse, but it was an inevitable thought. He knew, no matter how much he hated it, he had ruined Tyler's life. Forever.

After three days, James decided that not talking was harder than it seemed. Even if he had no one to talk to, having locked himself in his room all three days, it was still difficult. James stood up to go outside his room, but instantly learned the side effects of three-day sleep deprivation.

He'd been 24-hour sleep deprived before. He'd thought it was terrible at the time, feeling so lightheaded and confused. But he'd take that a hundred times over instead of this.

As soon as he stood up, his vision doubled—tripled, his legs felt like rubber, vomit rose up in his throat, and all he could hear was Loki's cackling. He'd forgotten where he was, who he was, and what he was. It was almost as if his brain had the common sense to go to sleep, but his whole body was still awake. Trying to get any memories of what had happened, he started mumbling to himself.

"Has hecho algunos enemigos, James. Moira Chinen? ¿Realmente pensaste que alguien de sangre japonesa entera podría tener un nombre tan irlandés?"

 _Stop it, Loki!_ James thought. _Get out of my head. Moira_ isn't _my enemy, she's yours._

"Oh, is she?" Loki materialized in front of him, leaving his body.

"Yeah. She is. But you're such a coward, you try to kill of your enemies before you've even excepted them as enemies. Or maybe you just want her on your side, because you're too afraid to kill her yourself. Could be either."

"James, you currently have the mental state of an average drunk."

"And whose fault is that?"

"Yours, genius."

"Who killed me, huh?"

Loki rolled his eyes. "Get over it, James."

James snorted. "Yeah. Get over the fact that the other gods held you in a cave with a viper dripping acid in your face for thousands of years. Once you get over that, I'll _gladly_ get over the fact that you killed me." James smiled sweetly.

Loki scowled. "Go to Helheim."

"I'll gladly do that right now."

Loki snickered. "Actually, right now, you'd rather go to bed. You're three days sleep deprived."

"Naw." James insisted, even though Loki was right. He wanted to pass out right then and there.

"What do you mean 'no?' You're definitely sleep deprived. And, also remember, I'm in your mind now. I know what you're thinking."

"Crap. Well, I guess there's no good in hiding it. Night, Lokers!"

"Were you actually drinking?"

"I dunno!"

…

James opened his eyes, again, with minimum memory of previous events. He was still on the floor, but Loki had left, and he didn't feel at all sleep deprived. In fact, he felt very well-rested. He had no idea what time it was, but he got up anyway and unlocked his bedroom door. Outside of it, the halls were deserted, so he figured it was late at night. Slowly, and very silently, he drifted across the carpeted floors to the elevator. When he pushed the lobby button, the beeping sound of the button startled him, as he realized how initially quiet it had been. It was as if he could _hear_ specks of dust land on walls and floors. The sound of the elevator sliding down sounded like an explosion. James was again, startled by a beep when the elevator stopped on another floor. When the doors slid open, revealing Magnus Chase, James rolled his eyes.

"Uh, hey." Magnus said awkwardly. "I haven't seen you in weeks."

 _Weeks?_ James's face went pale. He'd been asleep for _weeks_?

Magnus blew air through his lips. "How's your life?"

"Crap, but what else is new?"

"Oh."

Silence.

"You…wanna talk about it?" Magnus asked.

"You've got to be kidding me." James turned to look at Magnus. Magnus was slightly taller than he was, and much more muscular.

"I wasn't, but if you don't want to, it's fine. Just thinking of a way to pass the time."

"How long is this elevator ride gonna' be?"

"It ranges. Could be anywhere from two minutes to nine hours."

James balled his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white and cracks.

There was silence for a few minutes.

"Got anything you wanna talk about?" Magnus eventually asked.

"Deja de hablar, Magnus Chase."

"What?"

Then an idea struck James's mind. "Actually, I do want to ask you something." He said nervously.

"Uh-huh?"

"What are your thoughts on Loki, God of Mischief?"

"He's a pain in the ass, why?"

"Alright," James replied, avoiding Magnus's question for now. "What about all the other gods?"

Magnus shrugged. "Thor's also kind of a pain in the ass. Odin is bleh. My father is good I guess. My grandfather on the other hand, not so much. My aunt Freya is fine, but from what I've seen of her, a little full of herself. Tyr I hardly know but he seems-"

"I didn't ask for your opinion of every god individually. As a whole, I mean."

"Meh. 2/10." There was a short break. "Why are you smiling?" Magnus asked after a few seconds.

"I'm _smiling_?!" James asked, alarmed. He ran his fingers across his lips. And dang it, they were upturned at the corners! It was the first time in…actually, he couldn't remember.

Magnus tried and failed to hold back a small laugh. "Is that a problem?"

"Uh," James considered this.

"Anyway, what was the point of bringing this up?" Magnus asked, still slightly amused.

James bit his tongue, but by the time the elevator door slid open, he couldn't bring himself to ask.

"Anyway, nice talking to you, James. See you another time!" Magnus stepped out, leaving James alone in the elevator.

…

James stepped out of the elevator into the lobby, which was also abandoned. A huge gold clock read _1:34._ The would explain why everything was so deserted.

He stepped out of the Hotel Valhalla and looked up at it from the outside. It was _massive._ Its top seemed to be stabbing the milk white semi-circle that was the moon. There was a light breeze, and the air was slightly above freezing, but James didn't care. He shut his eyes, trying to recap the last few days. He went to Midgard to try to fix things and save Tyler, but instead got him locked in a nuthouse. Then, he got possessed by Loki, which he was surprised hadn't been brought to his attention by anyone. After the Loki was out of him, he remembered what had happened, and went on a no food, no water, no sleep strike for a few days. And then, somehow, he slept for _weeks,_ according to Magnus. And now…now? What would come next?

He made a mental list of things that might happen next.

 _-Lose all will to live and have my soul vaporize from Valhalla._

 _-Somehow make my way to Helheim._

 _-Stay in Valhalla until Ragnarok._

But then another thought entered his mind. It was very dangerous, and probably a terrible idea, but he added it to his mental list anyway.

 _-Forget the wait and start Ragnarok as soon as I'm powerful enough to destroy Loki._


End file.
